Latch for the operating levers of car doors



March 19, 1929. D. E. CONRAD ET AL LATCH FOR THE OPERATING LEVERS OF CAR DOORS Filed Jan. 21, 1928 vanilla?! nBalolu/in' Patented Mar. 19, 1929.

UNITED STATES P'ATEN T; OFFICE.

DAVID'E. CONRAD AND VAN V. BALDWIN F IOWA.

- LATCH FOR THE OPERATING LEVERS OF CAR DOORS;

Application filed January '21, 1928. Serial No.'248,548.'

This invention relates to doors such as are used on grain cars and cars carrying.

valuable loads, and particularly to certain improvements upon the lever which is used' for operating the longitudinally shiftable lower .rail of the car door shown in Patents Nos. 1,569,799, grantedon January 12, 1926,

and 1,635,926, granted on July 12, 1927.

In both these patents there is shown a car door which is movable upon a longitudinally extending track. This track is provided with angular slots and rides upon pins projecting from thesill of the door or from the side ofthe carand this track, when shifted in one direction by means of a lever, acts to liftthe door so as to disengage it from certain holding or fastening racks shown in said patents and permit the door to roll to an open position and, when the lever is shifted in the reverse direction, the

door is lowered, again holding the door in any position to which it may be shifted.

The general object of the present invention is to provide means for latchlng this lever and sealing the latch, if desired.

A further object is to provide latching means of this character which will drop into place whenever the lever is moved to a predetermined position, such position as, for

instance, will cause the door to lower and, therefore, .be held by the rack shown in the prior patents before mentioned. 4

A. still further object is to provide means for sealing the latching pinon the lever when it is dropped into latching position, and also to provide means for positively latchingthe lever against shifting movement until the lock is released by a key, this last named locking means to be used in addition to the sealing. means first referred to in case the car is filled with highclass merchandise or on emigrant cars.

Our invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, Whereinz- Figure 1 is a fragmentary elevation of a car and car door showing the operating lever and our latching device applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary vertical section through the door opening and door;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary edge elevation of the lever partly in section showing the latching-device in operative position;

Referring to the drawing, 10 designates the side wall of a railway car and 11 the door. This door carries wheels 12 which operate upon a longitudinally slidable rail the opening in the 13. -This rail is provided at intervals with the angularly disposed slots 14. At its np per end the door is heldfrom outward movement by a longitudinally extending angle iron 15.. The upper and lower margins of the door are provided with teeth 16 which, when the door is lowered, are adapted'to engage with teeth 17 carried upon the car wall or door frame. WVhen thev rack teeth 17. So far the construction is practically the same as that described in-the patents before referred to.

The present invention relates to the lever and the means for latching this lever. The

lever whereby the rail is operated is designated 18. This lever is pivoted at 19 upon the wall of the car and isslightly angitllar at its lower end. The lever is pivoted to the rail13 at 20 and the lever operates over a sector-shaped plate 21 which mayconstitute the bracket upon which the lever is pivotally mounted, and the lever with an opening 22 which opening 23 formed in the lever 18.

Mounted upon the lever, 18 is an angle iron 24 having an opening aligning with plate 21. Mounted upon the rear face of the lever is a bearing plate 25, the middle of which is outwardly bowed so as to form a bearingfor the transverse is provided allgns w th anportion 26 of an arm 27. This arm at its 1 free end is formed with the right angularly extending pin28. When the lever 18 is in its upright position and the .door is closed, this. pin 28 extends inward through the opening in the angleiron 24, through the perforation in the sector-shaped plate 21, and through the aperture in the lever 18. A lug '29 extends outward from the lever to one side of the pin 28 and this lug and the pin are transversely apertured for the passage of a sealing wire 30, and when this sealing wire is in place, the pin will be fastened against any outward swinging movement.

The sector-shaped plate 21 is also provided with an aperture 31 for the hasp of a lock 32, such as a padlock. When this.

lock is in place, the lever 18 cannot be shifted to shift the rail 13 to raise and release the door, even though the pin 28 be lifted out of latching engagement with the plate 21. Under these circumstances it is necessary to remove the lock 32 and remove the sealing wire 30 before it is possible to release the lever. Under ordinary circumstances, however, and where the cargo is not of great value, the sealing wire alone is necessary. W hen the seal is removed and the latching pin 28 pulled back and the lever shifted toward the left in Figure 1, the pin will ride over the surface of the plate 21, but when the lever comes back to its latching position, the pin will immediately drop into the hole under its own weight, tastening the lever in place. All that is necessary, when the dooris open, is to push the door shut and this will swing the lever from its unlatched to its latched position and the pin, as previously explained, will drop into place. All that is necessary then is to apply the seal or apply the lock, or both.

We claim:

1. In a car, a door shifting lever pivotally supported, a plate over which the lever operates having a perforation, a latching pin pivotally mounted upon the lever for swinging movement in a plane at right angles to the plane of movement of the lever, the lever having an aperture through which the pin may pass, and a plate outward of the lever "and havlng an aperture aligning with the aperture in the lever in one position of the lever.

2. In a car, a door shitting lever pivotally supported and having an aperture throughthe lever, a sector-shaped plate disposed outward of: the lever having a transverse width equal to the range of movement of the lever 3. In a car, a door shifting lever pivotally" supported, a plate over which the lever operates having a perforation, a latching pin pivotally mounted upon the mg movement 1n lever for swinga plane at right angles to the plane of movement of the lever, the leverv having an aperture through which the pin may pass, and a plate outward of the lever and having an aperture aligning withvthe aperture in the lever 1n one position of the lever, the plate being provided with an aperture located to one side of the leverwhen the latter is in said predetermined positionand adapted to receive the shackle of a locking device.

4. The combination with a sliding car door, of a lever, for operating the doorpivoted upon the wall of the car, a latch swingingly mounted upon the lever for movement in a plane at right angles to the plane-of movement of the lever, and a plate over which the lever swings and having aperture, the latch being adapted to swing by gravity into engagement with said aperture when t is lever is in a position with the door closed.

In testimony whereof we hereunto aflix our signatures. V

DAVIDEr CONRAD. VAN V. BALDWIN. i 

